Do planes make you fart more? Why flying makes you break wind

THE body goes through some strange changes when flying at high altitude.

Your taste buds become less effective, your ears pop and perhaps the least social of the bunch – you fart more.

But according to the experts, there’s not much we can do about it.

Jacob Rosenberg, a clinical professor at the University of Copenhagen says it is all down to the cabin pressure dropping.

He made the discovery after noticing that his stomach had become bloated on a long-haul flight to New Zealand.

After clocking that his empty water bottle had expanded during the flight, then crumpled when it came back down to earth, he realised that the same could apply to his stomach.

He told the BBC: “The pressure drops and the air must expand into more space.”

According to Jacob, the gas sitting inside the stomach then expands by 30 per cent – and it needs to go somewhere.

There are ways to limit the amount you gross people out though.

By eating more carbohydrates and less fibre at the airport and on the plane, you can limit your bloating.

If the problem is insurmountable though, you could also invest in some “flatulence filtering underwear.”

The pants, made by Shreddies, feature an activated carbon back panel that absorbs all flatulence odours.

Back in 2018, a passenger was kicked off a flight after he was accused of refusing to stop farting.

Flight attendants also suffer from the problem with cabin crew regularly performing aisle checks as an excuse to fart, which they call “crop-dusting.”

During a flight, crew try not to pass wind in the tiny galley where their colleagues are taking a break.

Instead, they save up their gas and let it out while doing a walk through the cabin.

To do this, they walk slowly up and down the aisle, pretending to check whether the overhead cabins are properly closed and passengers are settled.

We’ve done the maths to work out how much fart is on your plane too – and it’s not pretty.